The Los Angeles Lakers coach and Spanish power forward reportedly sorted out their issues over a dinner after a close win against Charlotte Bobcats....
How to effectively use Pau Gasol?
That has been a question for which new Los Angeles Lakers head coach has been struggling to find an answer ever since he took over the reins of the franchise nearly a month back.
Till now, he has achieved little success. The seven foot Spaniard returned to the court recently in the game against the Charlotte Bobcats, after a layoff of 8 consecutive games due to tendinitis in both his knees. He looked rusty
upon return, but did some numbers in the stat sheet.
Noticeably though, Mike D benched the power forward when the push really came to the shove. Midway through the third quarter, D’Antoni came up with an idea of utilizing one of Gasol and Dwight Howard at a time, and the result was
a sit out for Pau Gasol in the tight final minutes of the game.
The Spaniard didn’t like it naturally, but it worked. Both the coach and player went for a dinner later on to sort out the issues, and according to reports Mike D told the forward he won’t be benched in crucial minutes again;
According to Los Angeles Times;
“Gasol said he wanted the ball in the post instead of on the perimeter and also asked to play in crunch time, among the topics discussed with D’Antoni at a Manhattan Beach restaurant.
‘It was to make sure we’re in the same boat,’ Gasol said. ‘We’re trying to reach the same goal. Let’s communicate. Hopefully, we can meet halfway on some points.”
D’Antoni told Gasol he would no longer be benched in crucial situations, according to a person familiar with the conversation.”
That effectively means that either D’Antoni won’t go small again, or he would bench Howard late in the games to give Pau a chance. If latter is the case, it will certainly ruffle some feathers, and that is something D’Antoni cannot
afford to do given that Howard is yet to sign a contract extension with the Hollywood franchise.
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